How to Fix Relief u/s 89, 90 & 91 Amount Cannot Be Greater Than Total Tax? – myITreturn Help Center

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While validating your income-tax return on myITreturn, you may see the following error:

Relief u/s 89/90/91

Relief u/s 89/90/91 amount cannot be greater than Total Tax amount. Please correct your relief amount.

This error means that the total tax relief entered in your return is higher than the tax liability available for reduction. The return therefore cannot be validated until the relief amount or the underlying tax computation is corrected.

What is relief under sections 89, 90 and 91?

Section	Relief relates to	Supporting form
Section 89	Relief from additional tax arising because eligible salary, family pension, gratuity or similar income was received in arrears or in advance.	Form 10E
Section 90/90A	Foreign-tax relief where India has an applicable Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement or specified agreement.	Form 67
Section 91	Unilateral foreign-tax relief where tax was paid in a country with which India does not have an applicable agreement for double-tax relief.	Form 67

Important: Tax relief is different from TDS, TCS, advance tax or self-assessment tax. Tax payments must be reported under the relevant “Taxes Paid” section and should not be entered as relief under sections 89, 90 or 91.

Why does this validation error appear?

The error commonly appears for one or more of the following reasons:

The relief amount was entered manually and is higher than the calculated tax liability.
The salary arrears amount was entered instead of the relief calculated under section 89.
The tax deducted by the employer was mistakenly entered as section 89 relief.
The full foreign tax paid was claimed even though only a lower amount is eligible as foreign tax credit in India.
The same foreign tax was claimed under both section 90/90A and section 91.
The income, deductions or tax regime was changed after entering the relief, but the relief amount was not revised.
The amounts entered in Schedule Foreign Source Income, Schedule Tax Relief or Form 67 do not match.
An old or unnecessary relief entry remains saved in the return.

How to correct the error in myITreturn

Step 1: Click the “FIX” button

On the validation page, click FIX against the Relief u/s 89/90/91 error. Review the relief details entered in your return.

Step 2: Check your total tax liability

Review the tax computation displayed in the Summary section. Note the tax payable before relief and compare it with the total relief claimed under sections 89, 90/90A and 91.

The combined relief cannot exceed the amount of tax available for reduction. Interest, late-filing fees and penalties cannot normally be eliminated by entering a higher relief amount.

Step 3: Correct section 89 relief, where applicable

If you are claiming relief for salary or family-pension arrears:

Confirm that the arrears or advance income has been included under Salary or Family Pension.
File Form 10E on the Income Tax e-Filing portal before filing the return.
Enter only the relief calculated in Form 10E.
Do not enter the gross arrears, additional salary or TDS amount as relief.
Ensure the Form 10E acknowledgement details entered in myITreturn are correct.

Step 4: Correct foreign-tax relief, where applicable

If you paid tax outside India:

Confirm that the foreign income has been included in your taxable income in India.
Check whether relief is being claimed under section 90/90A or section 91.
Do not claim the same foreign tax under both provisions.
Verify the country, foreign income, foreign tax paid and eligible credit entered in the foreign-income and tax-relief schedules.
Claim only the eligible foreign tax credit and not automatically the entire foreign tax paid.
Confirm that Form 67 has been submitted on the Income Tax e-Filing portal within the applicable prescribed timeline.

Foreign tax credit is generally restricted to the tax attributable to the relevant doubly taxed income. Therefore, the foreign tax paid may be higher than the credit that can actually be claimed in India.

Step 5: Remove the relief if it is not applicable

If you have not received salary arrears, advance salary or eligible foreign income, remove the amount entered under sections 89, 90/90A or 91.

Step 6: Save and Click on e-File

After correcting the relevant amount, save the details, click on e-File button to validate the return again. The error should disappear once the relief and tax computation are consistent.

Example

Assume the return shows the following amounts:

Total tax and cess available for reduction: ₹18,000
Relief under section 89: ₹10,000
Relief under section 90/90A: ₹12,000
Total relief entered: ₹22,000

Since the total relief of ₹22,000 is greater than the tax amount of ₹18,000, the return will show a validation error.

The taxpayer should recalculate each relief claim using Form 10E, Form 67 and the relevant income details. The amount should not be reduced merely to bypass the validation. It must be corrected to the amount legally eligible.

Do not enter an arbitrary amount: Passing the software validation does not by itself establish that a relief claim is correct. Keep the relevant salary records, Form 10E calculation, foreign tax certificate, proof of payment and Form 67 details available for verification.

Which law applies for AY 2026–27?

Although the Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026, returns for FY 2025–26 and AY 2026–27 continue to be governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961. Therefore, the operative references for this return remain sections 89, 90, 90A and 91 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

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